Rear Control Arm Choices: Arms Vs Bushings

CarMichael Angelo

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,
15 Year Member
Nov 29, 1999
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Birmingham, al
Did we ever come to a common concensus about who makes the best VALUE in a functional set of rear control arms?

I Spoke w/ Steeda yesterday,..and dude tells me that their 3 piece bushing is the most street friendly urethane bushing out there. Are there other companies selling a three piece bushing? Do I want something else?

Last car, I went through the multiple hour process of drilling/burning out the old bushings, and plating the stock arms for reinforcement. I used some high durometer rubber thingys from Steeda then. The bushings alone were over 100.00. From what I'm seeing A "good" set of arms are 3 times that.

Arm prices are all over the place,..and I am just looking for the best arm at the best price that makes the most sense for a street driven car.

The "intended purpose" is offset by the reality that there are other turbo charged sixes out there just like mine that are making 450 ft/lbs of torque to the rear wheels,...and my combo will be no different.
 
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Unless you are going to NEED to adjust your pinion angle, why not just go with a standard, no name set of control arms with poly bushings? People try and say "oh ours do all this" but in reality, if they are NON adjustable, their only claim to being better than stock is that they have a poly bushing and the arm will not flex like the stock "u" shaped ones will.
 
The poly bushing steeda sells is nice and holds up very well..had a set on my fathers 93 cobra since 96. They claim they will not bind like other arms could.

That being said I've never had an issue with a UPR arm and the street arms are very affordable and made from properly sized tubing, welded in the USA at one of the top fabrication shops in FL.

I do prefer double adjustable uppers so you can dial in pinion angle as your ride height changes or the function of the car changes.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2
 
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Never had any good luck from MM. They certainly don't have the years of experience and track records that Steeda has. I kind of think they are the facebook brand.

Kurt
 
You're kidding right?

Nope. I've honestly never had any luck with anything they sold. My first experience was buying a clutch cable from them. I don't know what it was for, but it wasn't for a Mustang. Then I had a customer come in with one of their suspension kits to install in his Mustang. Nothing, and I mean nothing fit. Had to send the whole kit back. We ended up piecing together a kit that worked out for less money.

Kurt
 
Well,...At the bottom of the price ladder are the Granetelli Motorsport pieces. Tech dude told me they would sell me a set of four arms for 145.00 plus 50.00 dollars to ship......50.00!!!!. They claim that they are American made pieces using one piece poly bushings, and are either red, or black powder coated..

150.00 is half of what a Steeda set, or UPR set costs......... Are they really only half as good?
 
I wouldn't give a plug nickel for anything Granatelli sold. My basis for that is having seen a set broken by an HCI Fox. The thin walls are what you would expect from a no-name ebay vendor.

In fairness, this was +/- 10 years ago and I've not given them another look since.
 
Well,...At the bottom of the price ladder are the Granetelli Motorsport pieces. Tech dude told me they would sell me a set of four arms for 145.00 plus 50.00 dollars to ship......50.00!!!!. They claim that they are American made pieces using one piece poly bushings, and are either red, or black powder coated..

150.00 is half of what a Steeda set, or UPR set costs......... Are they really only half as good?

Mike, I wouldn't put GMS parts on if they paid me to. Google "Granatelli sucks".

Kurt, honestly you are the first person I have ever heard of that was not happy with the quality of MM parts. Personally, I have used their suspension, clutch, and chassis parts for going on 20 years and every part fit right and performed right. I just bought another set of rear lower control arms for my 90 and will be buying a set of their CC plates as well.

Hey but as I always say, that is why Baskin Robbins makes 31 flavors. Everyone is paying their own ride so they gets to choose what they want.
 
I honestly can't explain it. I know they are a good company, I know they have a good reputation, and I know others have had good luck with their stuff. I personally have just never had any good luck with it. If I ever figure it out, I'll let you know. I do know that everything I have ever bought from Steeda has worked right the first time.

Kurt
 
Mike, I wouldn't put GMS parts on if they paid me to. Google "Granatelli sucks".

Kurt, honestly you are the first person I have ever heard of that was not happy with the quality of MM parts. Personally, I have used their suspension, clutch, and chassis parts for going on 20 years and every part fit right and performed right. I just bought another set of rear lower control arms for my 90 and will be buying a set of their CC plates as well.

Hey but as I always say, that is why Baskin Robbins makes 31 flavors. Everyone is paying their own ride so they gets to choose what they want.


I'm with you on this one but you have to consider the circumstances he posted. Someone brought it to him because they couldn't make it work. Chances are that something was wrong with the set that brought to him. Could even something as simple as being the wrong part. Anyway... Had those parts gone into the car like they should have, then he'd never have seen them at all.

My take on the story is that the only reason he came into contact with those pieces is because they were either A) the wrong pieces for the application or B) defective in some way. If that were not the case, the owner of these parts would have simply installed them and the issue would have never been.
 
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The owner didn't attempt installation. All I'm saying is don't get caught up in all the internet talk. I won't say there is anything wrong with MM parts outright. However, IMHO you can't compare them to Steeda parts. Two different levels of experience there. Most of the people I know who talk up MM parts don't have an MM part on their own car.

Kurt
 
The owner didn't attempt installation. All I'm saying is don't get caught up in all the internet talk. I won't say there is anything wrong with MM parts outright. However, IMHO you can't compare them to Steeda parts. Two different levels of experience there. Most of the people I know who talk up MM parts don't have an MM part on their own car.

Kurt

No doubt Dario makes quality parts and his staff is extremely knowledgable. I'm local so I personally have been to his old and new shop. Steeda is much stronger with other areas such as engine, body, cooling, and other product lines as MM doesn't dabble there.. Jack @ MM is also a top notch guy with decades of experience and everything MM I have bought over the years went on without a hitch. Same for Bruce@Griggs. I've used their products and no complaints. All three have been in the Mustang world since the beginning and built good reputations for a reason.

I don't think you can go wrong with either of these companies and it may come down to personal preference.
 
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Probably true. I grew up in Steeda country. I had many a over the desk converations with Dan at Steeda. He's an actual engineer that knows what he's talking about. I remember when their sales office was a little hole between the two installation bays.

Kurt
 
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